On March 20th 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education. This act will unquestionably impact students of color, students with disabilities, and students in low-income communities.
Our most vulnerable students shouldn’t have to bear the burden of Trump’s attempt to funnel billions of dollars away from public schools toward private school vouchers. In the face of this hostility, states and school districts nationwide must do all they can to preserve the promise of universal public education and protect students and families from the fallout.
Instead, the San Francisco Unified School District has spent weeks making unnecessary threats of 500 or more preliminary layoff notices that resulted in 177 actual notices, all of which are likely to be rescinded. During a time of such profound political uncertainty, the district has only added further undue stress and confusion as educators and schools finalize their school site budgets. It does not have to be this way.
For those working on the frontlines to enrich and educate San Francisco’s young people, the message is clear: Expect more chaos and austerity. Let me say clearly and definitively for those on the outside looking in: San Francisco’s public-school educators have weathered chaos and austerity before, and we have a vision for how to protect our students and communities from what lies ahead.
You would be hard-pressed to find a more fitting illustration of our nation’s misplaced priorities than San Francisco’s public schools. In a city where so much wealth is created and distributed, in a state with a bigger economy than all but four countries on the planet, our public schools should be models of stability and the possibilities of a fully funded, fully staffed public education system. Instead, San Francisco educators are consistently asked to make do with less support and fewer resources—to succeed despite upheaval, mismanagement, and uncertainty.
Our members—the teachers, aides, specialists, social workers, and support staff who engage with San Francisco’s students every day—know what’s needed to rebuild our schools after decades of divestment. We understand that we are the only stabilizing force in a district in disarray and are ready to chart a better course for our students and communities.
Our vision for the schools our students deserve starts with a realignment of district priorities. Now is the time for the district to invest in educators. Even before the recently announced layoffs, the district had more than 100 vacancies for certificated teaching positions and more than twice that number for classified staff. Meanwhile, the number of management positions in the district central office has ballooned for decades.
Currently, San Francisco USD spends roughly twice as much per student on administrative salaries than comparable school districts in California. Central administrative spending accounts for a quarter of the district’s budget, significantly higher than the average for similar districts. We need the district to prioritize stable classroom staffing by shifting excessive administrative funding to pay for educator positions needed within schools.
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Time and again, San Francisco’s voters have demonstrated support for educators and schools by introducing new taxes to fund them. The district currently holds more than $100 million in voter-approved tax funding even as it hands out layoff notices as directed by the state advisor. Our vision includes respecting the will of the voters when they voted yes to investing in our schools. We know these dollars belong in the classroom, not in district reserves.
Our vision includes funding fully staffed schools. That means nurses, counselors, social workers, and librarians at every school. It means manageable class sizes, caseloads, and the support and planning time educators need to succeed. It also means concrete solutions to chronic and unconscionable short staffing in special education services. These are not luxuries.
One job should be enough to make a living for those who devote their lives to uplifting young people. It is past time for pay and benefits to reflect educators’ critical role in the San Francisco community. Our students deserve clean, safe facilities. They deserve support and resources that meet their needs and prepare them for success.
In the current climate, both the city and the state have an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to the vision of a fair, equitable, and democratic society in stark contrast to the values on display in Washington. We can prepare the next generation to carry that vision forward. As educators, we know we can’t wait for others to build the robust and stable schools our students and communities deserve. Our students need us to take action now, which is why, from April 21st through the 25th, we will begin a week-long citywide picket at our schools in support of our bargaining negotiations. We hope to see you there.
As destabilizing threats to public education come from the federal level, it is time for the district, the city, and the state to align around a vision to protect our students. We welcome them to partner with us in our vision to prioritize fully funding and staffing our schools. We know that it is the time for all of us to step up and support a vision toward a fair, equitable, and democratic society far removed from the values on display in Washington.
We can prepare the next generation to carry that vision forward. We invite our community to support our bargaining proposals, which include: improved educator pay, employer-funded healthcare, emergency housing for SFUSD families, ensuring Sanctuary City policies are enforced at a District level, along with lower caseloads and higher quality services for our students in Special Education.
Cassondra Curiel is president of the United Educators of San Francisco.
